The Herd of Turtles

Melissa Neacato of www.travelingwallet.com is the guest on today's show to talk about her journey to paying off over $100,000 in debt while also partaking in mini-retirments. She is a member of the Financailly Independent, Retire Early community more widely known as the F.I.R.E Community. She also enjoys the practice of minimalism to find out what really matters to her.

Patrick Scanlan is the Program Director of the Backcountry Program at Carrabassett Valley Academy (CVA) in the western mountains of Maine. The Backcountry program is a unique program that exposes kids to incredible places while teaching them how to not just be active in the backcountry, but to do it safely.  They take incredible trips all over the world to rugged wildernesses to test themselves in environments that most people would shy away from.  Kids learn a blend of mountaineering, mountain safety skills as well as challenging themselves by skiing breathtaking lines.To find out more and to check out CVA.: https://www.gocva.com/athletics/backcountryBrent and Patrick also cover:State of mountain guiding in the United States. Increase of clientele during pandemic. Increase in general of people wanting to get out and explore. AMGA/IFMGA Certification versus un-certified guides. Un-regulated guide services. The US ethics versus other mountainous countries. https://amga.com/ ; https://ifmga.info/The climate crisis effect on the outdoor industry, glaciers, and mountain hazards and the organizations that are helping to find solutions:  https://protectourwinters.org/ ; https://communitysnowobs.org/ ; https://app.mountainhub.com/exploreDiversity in the outdoor space.  A critical part of solving social and political division as well as addressing the climate crisis on a national and international scale.  https://www.kismetrockfoundation.org/ ; https://outdoorafro.com/ ; https://www.mountainproject.com/ ; https://americanalpineclub.org/other-grantsPatrick also supports and promotes the following organizations: CVAEMS Climbing School https://www.emsoutdoors.com/SOLO Wilderness Medicine https://soloschools.com/White Mountain Avalanche Center https://mountwashingtonavalanchecenter.org/Support from https://www.blizzard-tecnica.com/us/en ; https://folkrm.com/ ; https://coros.com/ 

Finley Robinson is coach who helps entrepreneurial couples navigate the challenges of working together as well as serve as the Brand Manager for BTribalFit , his wife Brooke's online community centered around fitness.Finley recently left his job serving as a pastor in his church to commit fully to both his and Brooke's dream of having a successful online business that allows for them to have the freedom to live life on their terms.  He shares his journey of leaving something he cared deeply to follow his dream of being a successful entrepreneur.  Finley shares some tips on how to work with a spouse and to support each other so that each person can provide the most value as possible.   We also talk about living in northwest Arkansas and the great things that the area offers.You can find Finley here.You can find Brooke's BTribalFit Community here. 

Boris Kievsky runs dotorgstrategy.com which has a mission of making the world a better place by helping nonprofits harness the power of storytelling and technology to find and activate more heroes for their cause.Boris immigrated to the US as a young boy from the Ukraine.  Through his journey of assimilating to the US he learned how important the concept of identity was.  This helped him fall in love with 2 areas that still play a role in his life today: story telling  and using technology to help connect to people.Boris shares his journey from growing up in New York, going to school in Pittsburg, Miami and London, and finding his place in the world.  As a professional actor Boris is a gifted story teller and that is on full display during the interview.Boris' life is a great example of following your passions and developing a sense of purpose that feeds those passions as well as helps make the world a better place.You can find out about his company dotorgstrategy.com here:http://https://dotorgstrategy.com/You can find episodes and show notes to his podcast The Nonprofit Hero Factory here:https://dotorgstrategy.com/nonprofit-hero-factory/

Quick note saying the show is going to return Oct 19th!  Lots of great interviews scheduled so be sure to stay subscribed!

Join Brent and Dan Mendat on a replay from one of the first episodes.  Dan was literally cruising through life in Northeast Ohio as a truck driver and sailing with his wife on the weekends. When health challenges from driving truck and a family tragedy struck he knew something had to change. During a vacation to Southwest Florida he and his wife took a 4 hour sailing cruise. A chance comment by the skipper of the boat planted the seed of a different life. Dan and his wife Dianne decided to take the jump and left Ohio to pursue a life where they follow their passion for sailing and be the captain of their own life. Join Brent and Dan as we talk with about the journey so far, what life is like running your own small business and the joys of getting to do what you love every day.  Magic Wind Adventure Sailing TripAdvisor. #1 of 63 Tours in Fort Myers FL with 400 reviews 

Ryan Goloversic, aka Rygo, and Brent discuss his jobs in social media video production and kite boarding. From a young age Ryan new that he had to have a sense of purpose otherwise he would be miserable.  Ryan started off his career as a punk rocker in the Michigan area.  He left music after a few years and taking a few missteps found an interest in creating social media videos about kiteboarding. He currently works for MacKite in Michigan as Creative Director and a team rider.His progression/learning curve in kiting and some of the interesting maneuvers, details and finesse of kite boarding.The importance of Mackite in his life and how Mackites is very forward thinking in its connection to its customers and how his job has progressed throughout his association with them.What keeps him going and what is the grind behind what he does. What kind of travel the job requires and how does he accomplish it. And importantly, does the filming and tech work take the magic out of kite boarding for him?How much of his success would he contribute to hardwork versus being at the right place at the right time.What Rygo views as success for himself and what are his plans for the future.How to contact Ryan Goloversic on Instagram .You can see many of Rygo videos on YouTube.Or, you can visit the website MacKite.

Patrick Gallagher talks with Brent about building community and leadership and why it is important.Patrick talks about how he got started in this business of developing community and leadership. He has a business The Engineering Leadership Community which specializes in building leaders in the software engineering community. They also talk about the importance of developing meaningful personal relationships.This business was very different from studying physical therapy and kinesiology in college so they discuss how he made the leap to the field of leader ship buildingBrent asks him about the importance of travel in his life and what is one of the unexpected areas that he found himself liking. They discuss why it is important to have leadership and develop a sense of community in a professional environment. Creating community creates a sense of ownership for every job in a business, no matter how small or insignificant that position may seem.Brent asks Patrick whether or not leaders are born or developed and they discuss why certain types of leaders are red flags.Patrick supports a Cure Bike Ride that is run from Santa Barbara to San Diego in support of an illness called Leber’s Hereditary Optic Neuropathy. They discuss his personal involvement and why this particular charity is important to him.They both agree that there is real truth in “The importance of giving of yourself so that others will give.”Patrick Gallagher can be reached on LinkedinListen to his podcast at SFELC.comResources that Patrick mentioned on his journey to becoming an expert in community building and leadership:How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie Never Eat Alone: And Other Secrets to Success, One Relationship at a Time by Keith Ferrazzi and Tahl RazFrom Good to Great by Jim CollinsThe Art of Gathering by Priya ParkerThe Power of Moments by Chip and Dan HeathOutliers by Malcom Gladwell

Jennilee Morris speaks with Brent about her journey to becoming a coffee expert and successful business person.  Jenni Morris, an entrepreneur and chef.  She owns a coffee roasting company, 2 coffee shops and a catering business on Long Island.Brent and Jenni talk about:Her first experience on an extended road trip in a camper.  They discuss the type RV she and her partner, Emma Ballou, used and why and how they were able to find the time to travel.  They had challenges of not finding camping spots under covid restrictions. Their most used app to find camping spots was AllStays.Why Tucson AZ was her WOW experience.How she is a workaholic but gaining a better work life balance. Why working for inner peace doesn’t mean more is better.The universal issue of the effects of the labor shortage because of limited housing for service workers. They discuss how it is affecting the atmosphere on Long Island and especially the North Fork area of Long Island.Jenni’s businesses that include the North Fork Roasting Company which roasts coffee for her two coffee shops with locations in Southhold and Westhampton Beach, NY.and online customers. An important part of Jenni’s focus is the art of coffee and what makes coffee so special.   She is also part owner in a catering company called Grace and Grit.She values education even though she initially dropped out of high school. After she got her GED, she tried lots of different businesses including real estate, financial services and the hospitality industry where she found her place.They discussed the challenges of learning to turnover parts of a business to others so you can concentrate and grow a business.You can also find Jenni’s business’s on Facebook at North Fork Roasting Co and Grace and Grit.Also found on Instagram at North Fork Roasting Company and Grace and Grit Catering.

Reid Garcia of McKinney Texas speaks with Brent.  Reid is an electrical engineer, entrepreneur and RVer.Brent and Reid talk about:Growing up in Texas and attending Texas A&M University, his involvement with Engineers Without Borders and the discovery of how important it is to volunteer.Working at Boeing as an electrical engineer. How he found his center amid very different cultural influences from all over the country and the world. Discovering what made him feel valued and the work that he did actually mattered. Developing his entrepreneurial interest and Helpful For Life website which is based on the best education you never get. A deep dive into life skills that starts with Kick Starter Kitchen course.  Encouraging people to suggest topics which will help steer the helpful for life course offerings.Find out how he and his wife, Danielle, decided to become full-time RVers. What was the hardest part about the RV life that they experienced and what were the terrific aspects of RV life:Acadia National Park in MaineSlot canyons in SE UtahAnd finally how does Reid define success.Check out our affiliate link of Reid's program Kickstart your Kitchen and help support the show.

Chris Riley and Brent discuss Chris’ entrepreneurship, his interest in sailing and mountain biking.EntrepreneurAfter graduating from college Chris, while working at a school for outdoor education, he forms his first business with his brother, photographing weddings and other eventsWhile doing that he and his brother worked on developing programming to improve the photo editing process and it became an important part of the digital photography explosion.He also saw an area of need supplying summer camps and campers with gear, that becomes another leg of their business.  With the covid pandemic closing summer camps there is a possibility that the business will not reemerge in the same form.While he was looking for more warehouse space he found a business that interested him which was looking for new direction, Fabric Warehouse.  They purchased it expanded it so now has both a retail and online component.SailingSailing has always been an important part of Chris’s whole life. He believes that sailing does not have to be an elite sport. He looks at his form of sailing as “dirt bag sailing,”  a non-pejorative term that refers to doing things that you love the cheapest possible way. He and his wife have retrofitted and flip sailboats. How he and his wife planned and budgeted for years for a 6 month sailing trip.Chris shares the adventures and experiences they had while sailing the Bahamas and how they grew as a family.Unfortunately the trip didn’t end as planned due to a violent weather event.  Chris shares the lessons learned from dealing with adversity and the importance of being flexible.Mountian BikingChris is also an avid mountain biker and works hard on supporting mountain biking in Maine.  Currently president of the Central Maine Mountain Biking Assoc, working to create trails improve the sport.  He also loves to ride the Augusta Trail and Bondbrook Trail system and is impressed with the challenges of the Carrabassett NEMBA trails.

Brent interviews Wesley Henderson, an attorney in the Charleston, South Carolina area. He has taken a different road to creating a successful law firm and they talk about why and how he did it.Quite often people become attorneys because of mentors or family influence but for Wesley and his brother there were no lawyers in their family. He discovered he had an affinity toward law classes in college.  He decided to pursue it because of the many practice areas that are available to those that achieve a law degree.Out of college, Wesley joined a big law firm but two weeks into it decided that it wasn’t for him. It took him a year and a half to make the break but he learned a lot from the process. Wesley and Brent discuss the different career paths for attorneys and what it means to be a partner in law firms.  Wesley explained that this was not interesting for him.Wesley and his brother formed a small law firm, Henderson and Henderson in Charleston SC, where they have the ability to control who the firm deals with and this is of great value.Their main practice areas are business and employment law. They also work in ancillary areas for their clients such as litigation, estate and probate, and family law. Relationships are very important, both with colleagues and with clients.  This also allows them to have a balance in their lives. This is good because both of them have growing families and it is important to them to be an active part in their family life.They also have an online legal service to serve the needs of business owners, Drafted Legal. It is similar to and competes with LegalZoom and Rocket Lawyer and is quite successful.  They give more direct and personal help to their individual online clients than the other online companies offer.He can also be reached on Instagram.                   

Join Sarah and Brent as they share some of the moments, lessons and takeaways from the first 25 episodes that have affected them.   We've gotten a lot of great feedback since the show has started and we appreciate each and every listener.We are busy lining up more great guests for the next 25 shows!  Be sure to subscribe so that you don't miss an episode!Each episode can be found at The Herd of Turtles.If you'd like to support the show please rate and review the show or visit The Toolbox for affiliate links.

In today’s interview Brent talks to Brad Herder who’s mantra is “let’s see what happens” as he truly follows his passions and curiosity. Brad met his wife when she was a canoe racer and they have followed their passion for an outdoor life ever since.Brad refers to himself as an “accidental person” and it all started while he was delivering papers as a young kid. He found that he could run his delivery route faster than he could ride his bike and his passion for running was born. This passion has taken him into many different outdoor activities, but his true love is mountain biking.He figured out how to make his job work for him so he could follow his interests rather than other way around and it has allowed him to delve into many different outdoor activities which are his passions.Brad calls himself the “Accidental Youtuber" and makes various YouTube videos about whatever he is interested in.   He has almost 5,500 subscribers and more than 6,600,000 views.  His “how to” videos tend to do best, but he doesn't let that dictate the type of videos he posts.  He does what interests him and that attitude allows for him to keep his interest and not to take it too seriously.  Now when he finds himself interested in something he will show people how he did it so that they can learn to do it too.  You can find Brad on YouTube at Bradtube1.Brad is also an avid mountain biking trail builder.  He has built miles of trail in the Pittsfield State Forest.  To help promote the sport in the region and to help others find the trails he runs a website about mountain biking called berkshiresports.org.  He and his wife also run a side business of taking pictures of biking events around the Northeast and selling them on the web site Roots and Rain.This episode is brought to you by Travel Pro Luggage.  This is an affiliate link and if used to purchase luggage a small commission will be earned to help support the show.

Garrett Morrow is a long distance hiker who has hiked some of the most challenging long distance trails in the country.  What would drive someone to give up the luxuries of modern life and voluntarily face both physical and mental challenges out in the wilderness?  Garrett gives us the skinny on what drives him to push himself during his long distance hikes.   He specifically shares his experiences from hiking the majority of the Appalachian Trail, or what is commonly referred to as The AT.Long distance hiking is a unique activity in today's world of being constantly connected and being pulled in a million different directions.  When hiking for hundreds (or thousands) of miles you get some hard lessons in how to remain present and enjoy the process and not just the end result.Garrett shares some of the lessons he's learned while hiking, how his passion was planted and how he is able to structure his life so that he can regularly take off for a month or more at a time.  In addition we learn:the meaning behind and the importance of having a "Trail Name"what Trail Magic is and how it can help raise the spirits of AT hikersabout budgeting for long distance hikesand some of the hardest sections of the AT.Garrett can be found on Instagram at fairweather_hikesAppalachian TrailSugarloaf Mountain Ski ResortSaddleback Mountain Ski ResortCoal Mining Tour Lackawanna Country PA Saunter Packs

In this episode Brent speaks with intrepid traveler and entrepreneur Nate Ritter, co-founder of Room Steals.Room Steals is an online company that helps save time and frustration by being sure that you have found the absolute best prices on hotel rooms. Room Steals is able to offer wholesale pricing on rooms, even if you are only booking 1 room for one night. The business model of the service it to give the best prices of the rooms available, and if you can save money using Room Steals prices then you are offered the opportunity to sign up for the service with an annual membership.Nate and his team have offered listeners of The Herd of Turtles Podcast a 20% discount code off of the first year of membership to Room Steals. To redeem this 20% discount, enter the code turtlespodcast at checkout.During their conversation, Nate tells Brent how the Room Steals business idea came about: Nate and his wife love to travel. So much so that they saved for 2 years to try living abroad in France. While that didn't go according to plan, Nate learned a tremendous amount not only about travel, but also about dealing with bureaucracies, and language missteps. It also reinforced their commitment to traveling.This desire to travel has lead them to homeschool their kids, to allow them the freedom to travel and share new experiences with their kids. Brent and Nate talk about their common homeschooling experiences and some of the great things that can come out of it, as well as some of the societal challenges of being a homeschooling family.Upon returning to the US, Nate and his wife had been using travel hacks to score severely discounted travel. It was during this time that Nate began working with some hotel booking companies and learned about the ins and outs of how hotels price their rooms. A seed was planted that eventually turned into Room Steals.Nate shares his experiences of working in start up companies. Working in startups is different from working in a mature, larger company for a few reasons that Nate explains. Nate shares what makes this interesting for him and the satisfaction he gets out of faster pace of startup.Nate also has the interesting claim to fame as one of the first people to popularize the use of hashtags on Twitter. Nate shares the story of how he began to use hashtags as a citizen journalist during the San Diego fires of 2007.You can find Nate online several ways:Twitter: Nate RitterEmailBlogScott's Cheap FlightsRoom StealsQualcomm

This episode's guest is the award winning, multi-talented artist Tom Ferrero.  Tom has twice won the prestigious Saul Bell Design Award for his works of art.Tom shares his educational journey as an artist. His love of art was nurtured early on in high school where he took every art class he could take. One of the last courses he took was in jewelry making where it married his favorite aspects of art into a cohesive idea.After Tom's undergraduate studies at Rochester Institute of Technology he was awarded a Fulbright scholarship to study abroad in New Zealand. Upon returning for that tranformative year, he went to graduate school in Indiana.While there, in addition to his art workload, he took teaching classes that would help set up up well for his future work as a high school art teacher but not before he spent several years teaching art at Nova Scotia College of Art and Design in Canada more commonly referred to as NSCAD.We dive into the creative process, how to harness the inner critic for good, the importance of having multiple streams of income, the process of art contents and the beauty of both winters and summers in Maine.You can view some of Tom's art and also contact him through his web site: Tom Ferrero Studio and on Instagram.

We flip the script a little in this episode.  Sarah interviews Brent on the big news for the Herd of Turtles family!  Brent recently retired after 26 1/2 yeas in the airline industry.   This is a big change for our family and we talk about how the decision to retire at a young age was arrived at and what we are planning for the next stage.  This podcast is about aligning your life so that you can follow a passion.   This big change in Brent's life is allowing him to do just that.   This wasn't the plan a few months ago, but the timing was right and the opportunity presented itself to take the jump.  

In this episode Brent with Deke Andrews about his unusual choice of living in a van full time, his nomadic life for mountain biking but also his relatively stable stationary van life while he is snowboarding and what his ultimate experience is in van life. They discuss the advantages and the challenges of van life including minimalism which Deke is still defining what that means and how to accomplish it.One of the defining traits of Deke is that he is an unconventional thinker and definitely does not worry about what other people think. Deke decided to give up a conventional life of “ownership” to devote his life to his passions of mountain biking and snowboarding. He searched out the vehicle that was perfect for him and had it outfitted by AWOL Adventure Rigs to his specific needs which some people might think are as unconventional as he is. What is unusual about Deke is the fact that he does own a condo at Sugarloaf Mountain in Maine that is a rental property because he does understand the value of real estate, but at this point van life is for him.They talk about the importance of individual sports versus team sports especially in this time of Covid. He also has discovered that, for him, satisfaction is more important than data in determining his success. Deke can be found on Instagram at 207lacrosse.  Or by clicking InstagramAwol Adventure RigsWebasto Heating Solutions 

This episode’s guest is Logan Messina.  Logan is a newly minted Registered Maine Guide.  Maine Guides are widely recognized in the guiding profession as one of the most respected titles one can acquire.Logan has a passion for fishing that is infectious.  But it wasn’t always the case.  Like most, he tried a number of other professions before he found his true calling.  We learn about his previous work experiences and how it lead him to living in Maine and becoming consumed by fishing.  His favorite type of fishing is fly fishing but he isn’t a purist.  If you are trying to catch a fish he thinks you are doing it right.We also discuss many of the laws and regulations of the freshwater fishing industry in the state and the consequences of caused by them, both the good and the bad.  We cover state stocking of fish, damn removal, invasive species and how the different fisheries are promoted.  It is a complex web of both natural and political laws that affect the outdoor industry and Logan shares his insight as an insider.Logan also shares his experience as a rafting guide.  It was his time on the river watching fishermen ply their trade while he was guiding adventure seekers down the rapids that he began to see a way to make a full time living on the river.Logan also leverages his love of fishing to make additional income.  He ties fly fishing flies that he sells mostly through his Instagram account troutaboutit_flyfishing as well as his Etsy shop.  Logan gives some pointers in how to market and use these tools to help a small business.In addition Logan also explains how he has learned the art of “Thrifting” from his girlfriend.  They travel around the state visiting various types of thrift stores looking for vintage clothing that they then sell on Etsy.  Logan specializes in vintage fishing gear and can be found here.  Leila’s shop LeeBee Vintage Jeans specializes in vintage denim.This episode's sponsor is RVShare - Why deal with the hassle of RV ownership when you can rent the perfect RV for whatever adventure you are yearning for.LinksTrout About it - WebsiteTrout About it InstagramLee Bee Vintage Jeans Etsy ShopNorth Country Rivers Whitewater RaftingMaine Fishing RegulationsMaine Fly GuysNorthwoods Fly CompanyMaine Fly CompanyMaine Fly Fishing Showcase